Systems and methods for patching and repairing wall board

ABSTRACT

A surface repair kit includes an air-permeable breathable membrane coated with a premeasured amount of joint compound in its wet state. The membrane is suspended in a semi-rigid flexible frame and an opposing cover sheet is affixed over the compound around the backside of the frame. This framed composition is encased in an airtight package to prevent the compound from hardening. Included in the packaging may be a wall patch with an adhesive surface that holds a peel-off covering. Sandpaper may also be included in the kits since some repairs may require a final light sanding. The outside of the packaging carries simple printed instructions for the user to carry out the steps of peel, press and roll with accompanying illustrations so that drywall repairs can be carried out even by an unskilled novice.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/926,076, filed Jan. 10, 2014, entitled Systems and Methods for Patching and Repairing Wall Board, and to PCT Application No. PCT/US2014/011103, filed Jan. 10, 2014, entitled Systems and Methods for Patching and Repairing Wall Board, both of which are incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to wall and ceiling surface repair and materials. In particular, it relates to a repair patch for plaster or drywall surfaces which includes a patch and settable joint compound.

2. Background of the Invention

There are known various surface wall or ceiling surface repair systems that utilize a patch. These patching systems, however, require the handling of sticky, messy drywall compound and specialized knowledge and tools. Compound is measured, mixed, scooped and troweled over the patch and dries to a hardened surface, then it can be sanded smooth and flush with the surrounding wall. U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0191237, titled Drywall Repair Patch, discloses a repair patch which is pre-coated with a dry, water-hardenable cement product attached to one side of a porous substrate. While this joint repair compound is delivered with the patch substrate in place, it must be wetted and troweled smooth in the same manner as the commonly used tape and compound system. Therefore, this patch does not avoid direct contact with the messy and sticky joint compound and requires special troweling tools. Other prior art of which the Applicant is aware includes U.S. Pat. No. 6,162,525 entitled Drywall Patch issued to Amy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,861 entitled Structure and Method for Repair of Sheetrock Walls issued to Gilbreath and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0102381 entitled Drywall Patch and Method issued to McClurg. Applicant has also made advances in the area of drywall repair and holds U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,021,505, 8,328,970 and 8,381,474. However, none of these drywall repair systems anticipate or render obvious the Applicant's claimed drywall repair kit which provides a no-touch system of applying joint compound and which does not require expertise or special tools.

SUMMARY

In order to meet the needs in the art described above, the present drywall repair kit has been devised. In its general form, one embodiment of the invention provides a novel method of applying, spreading and drying a wet, settable compound such as drywall joint compound. The applicant has found that by applying a flexible, breathable membrane sheet against the settable compound and then pressing the membrane sheet forcibly against the application surface such as a wall or a ceiling with the compound in between, a no-touch system of applying the compound can be achieved. This system provides a clean, mess-free surface with contour protection while drying. Once dry, the membrane is peeled away from the compound. A translucent sheet of microporous “breathable” polyethelene or polypropylene membrane, such as MicroPro™ breathable plastic film sold by Clopay Corporation, 8585 Duke Boulevard, Mason, Ohio 45040, has been found to be particularly advantageous for applying and drying the compound. According to one embodiment of the invention, the air-permeable breathable membrane is coated with a pre-measured amount of joint compound in its wet state, making it immediately available for application to a wall surface. The membrane is suspended in a semi-rigid flexible frame which aids in ease and convenience of handling. An opposing cover sheet is affixed over the compound around the outside edges of the membrane by a peel away adhesive on the back of the membrane thus sandwiching the compound between the cover sheet and the membrane. Once the cover sheet is removed exposing the compound, the membrane adhesive remains active so that the frame will stick to the wall surface around the repair area.

Any smoothing device, such as a roller or straight-edge or even the user's hand, may be used to apply the smoothing pressure to spread the compound. If a translucent material is used for the membrane, the progress of the spreading of the compound can be observed as pressure is applied in different amounts and in different directions. After the compound has been applied smoothly and evenly across both the dry-patch surface and the surrounding application surfaces, the joint compound is then left to dry in the usual manner, and once dry, the framed membrane is then peeled away and discarded. As a final step in the smoothing process, a damp sponge or a light sandpaper may be used to feather the edges of the compound to provide a continuous surface over the repaired area. After the repair is completed, the remaining elements of the kit may be disposed of since the next repair can utilize another kit that will again have all materials necessary to effect a completed repair.

As delivered to the end user, this frame composition is encased in an airtight package to prevent the compound from hardening. Included in the packaging may be a wall patch with an adhesive surface that includes a peel-away covering. Sandpaper may also be included since some repairs may require final light sanding. The outside of the packaging has simple printed instructions for the user to carry out the steps of peel, press and roll with accompanying illustrations so that drywall repairs can be carried out even by an unskilled novice. The package therefore contains a complete repair kit.

Thus, it will be fully appreciated that the invention provides a no-touch wall repair system which is easy to use, requires no special tools or expertise, keeps waste material to a minimum and is easily disposable. While the aforementioned repair system is convenient for small cracks and holes in walls or ceilings of wallboard and plastered surfaces, an alternate embodiment of the invention provides a system for repairing larger or longer cracks or for covering access holes cut into the wall board. This alternate system is similar in concept to the system described above except that the patch includes a plug which matches the wall board hole. The frame includes grooves that add flexibility to the frame so that it can be bent into or around corners or curved surfaces.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosed embodiments. In the drawings, like numerals represent like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a top left front isometric view of the package containing the repair kit of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation view of the repair kit package.

FIG. 3 is a top left front isometric view of the various components of the repair kit.

FIG. 4 is a top left rear isometric assembly view.

FIG. 5 is a front elevation view.

FIG. 6 is a top left rear isometric assembly view.

FIG. 7 is a front elevation view with the operator's hand shown in phantom

FIG. 8 is a front elevation view.

FIG. 9 is a top plan sectional view taken from FIG. 8 as shown in that Figure.

FIG. 10 is a top left front isometric view of an alternate wall patch.

FIG. 11 is a top front isometric view.

FIG. 12 is a top front isometric view.

FIG. 13 is a top front isometric view.

FIG. 14 is a top front left isometric view.

FIG. 15 is a top front isometric assembly view.

FIG. 16 is a top left front isometric view.

FIG. 17 is a top rear isometric view;

FIG. 18 illustrates and embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 19 illustrates and embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Computer-implemented platforms, engines, systems and methods of use are disclosed that provide networked access to a plurality of types of digital content, including but not limited to video, audio, metadata, interactive and document content, and that track, deliver manipulate, transform and report the accessed content. Described embodiments of these platforms, engines, systems and methods are intended to be exemplary and not limiting. As such, it is contemplated that the herein described systems and methods can be adapted to provide many types of cloud-based va

Referring now to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the invention comprises packaging 11 formed of front 13 and rear 15 panels bonded around their periphery to form a containment void between them to hold the various elements of the present wall repair kit described in more detail below. As shown in this Figure, the outside of the package includes written instructions for using the repair kit including illustrations 17 which depict its use.

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the kit package shown in FIG. 1. The bonded packaging panels 13 and 15 may be manually separated to open the package as depicted in the top right corner of this figure. The bonding of the front and rear panels establishes an airtight package for the wet settable elements of the repair kit. In the depicted embodiment, the rear panel includes printed directions 16 for the place, peel, press and roll steps carrying out this embodiment of the invention in greater detail.

Referring now to FIG. 3, this embodiment of the repair kit includes a patch 31, a sanding disc 33, a packet 36 of additional wet settable repair compound and a framed quantity of compound 34 held suspended within a frame 37 between two flexible sheets, a breathable membrane 32 and a rear cover sheet 30. The frame 37 which is preferably made of plastic includes parallel grooves 29 which enable the frame to be folded or bent to conform to non-planar surfaces as further depicted in FIGS. 11-14. As depicted in FIG. 4, the patch 31 preferably includes an adhesive 38 applied to its backside which is protected and preserved by a peel-off backing 39. In this embodiment, the kit is shown applied to the surface of a wall 40 such as one composed of drywall wall board. The first step in the repair process is to apply the wall patch over the damaged area 41 of the wall 40 so that it is adhesively held in place as shown in FIG. 5. The patch is preferably perforated with holes 44.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the patch 31, as illustrated in FIG. 3, may take any geometric form and may, for example, be square and/or rectangular. Similarly, other aspects of the present invention may take on various forms. For example, in an embodiment of the present invention, frame 37 may be circular and may be sized to accommodate a regularly sized patchable area. Such an area needing repair may be formed by a door handle, for example, and by such objects which may create damage to drywall having approximately the same area of damage. An advantage of having circular aspects to portions of the present invention may include the avoidance of corners which may protrude through the final application of plaster over a repaired area. By way of example, corners to a frame, for example, may lack sufficient support and/or adhesion to withstand protrusion through and applied plaster.

FIG. 6 depicts the next step in the process which includes removing a protective rear covering 30 which sandwiches a quantity of wet settable repair compound 34 against the back of the breathable membrane sheet 32 which in turn is adhesively affixed to a backside of the frame 37. The rear surface of the membrane includes an active adhesive preserved by the peel-off backing 30. When the cover sheet is removed, this adhesive secures the frame to the wall with an open area of the frame encompassing the wall damaged area and patch as shown in FIG. 7.

Referring now to FIG. 7, the next step in the process is to manually apply pressure to the breathable membrane to spread the compound 34 over the wall 40 and into holes 44 in the patch 31 with the frame 37 remaining adhesively affixed to the wall. The compound 34 is now allowed to dry as air in the surrounding environment penetrates the membrane 32 and permits moisture to be expelled from the compound 34. Once the compound is dry, the frame is removed revealing the compound spread evenly over the patched damaged area as shown in FIG. 8. The sanding disc 42 may now be used to feather the edges of the dried compound to achieve a smooth finish.

FIG. 9 shows the finished dried compound 34 covering the damaged area 41 of the wall 40. As seen in this Figure, some of the compound has passed through holes in the patch 31 interlocking the dried compound with the patch 31. FIG. 10 depicts an alternate embodiment of the patch 43 which has an overall square shape rather than round as depicted in the previous figures of drawings.

Referring now to FIGS. 11-14, the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is shown applied to non-planar surfaces. The grooves 29 in the frame 37 which is preferably made of plastic provide lines of weakness to accommodate folding the frame about corners such as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. FIG. 13 depicts the resulting repair 45 on the convex corner 44 of FIG. 12. FIG. 14 shows how the lines of weakness can add flexibility to the frame so that it may be bent to conform to the contour of curved surfaces such as the cylindrical pipe 46 shown in this Figure.

FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 show different embodiments of specialized patches designed to match and plug a pre-cut hole in wall board 50 such as a circular hole 51 as shown in FIG. 11. In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the patch includes a front sheet 52 to which different types of circular plugs 53 have been affixed. In both embodiments, a peel-off backing 54 preserves adhesive 55 on the back of the sheet so that it remains active when applied to the wall board. The front sheet is always larger than the plug so that it spans the seam between the plug and the wall board hole. The plugs shown in FIGS. 15-17 all include cylindrical sides 60 which are slightly tapered to provide a snug press-fit between the plug and the wall board. The embodiment in FIG. 16 depicts a square front sheet 52 which carries a circular plug 53 composed of molded foam. The embodiment shown in FIG. 17 depicts a one-piece molded plastic plug 56 having a circular flange 58 and a cup-shaped plug 57 which has perforations that provide interlocking engagement with the repair compound once it has set. This embodiment also includes a plurality of radially extending tabs 59 which also aid in securing the plug to the wall board.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the extending tabs 59, as illustrated in FIG. 17, may be of a different geometry and may preferably be rounded. As discussed above, the elimination of corners through the use of a rounded portion may discourage protrusion of a an otherwise squared corner, for example. The tabs 59 may also, for example, be elongated and/or be of a shape which increases the adhesive distance from the center of the damaged area, such as through a triangular shape.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the membrane 32 may comprise an opening to allow frame 37 and compound 34 to be placed around at least one protruding wall object. Such a protruding object may include pipe(s), wire(s), a hose(s), for example, and includes any object protruding through drywall for which the frame 37 may surround. As illustrated in FIG. 18, the membrane 32 may include an opening sized to accommodate a protruding object, preferably a round object, to allow for a substantially close application of compound 34. The opening may be of any size and may be sized to accommodate ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, ¾″ and 1″ pipes, for example.

In a retail setting, a selection of units may be sold which include a plurality at least one membrane 32 and frame 37 set comprising the aforementioned sized pipes. In this way, a complete kit may be purchased for use with multiple sized protrusions and/or protrusions of an unknown size. Although the opening may be die cut prior to sale, such an opening may be marked on an otherwise substantially complete membrane 32 allowing the user to cut the desired portion out on-site. In this way, the invention may be customized to a particular sized protrusion and/or protrusion location.

Furthermore, a very typical opening cut into drywall may be a square and may be more particularly cut to allow for an electrical box to protrude. Although such boxes may range from a single switch to a gang of eight, for example, such boxes generally have the same height which is standard as between box manufacturers, often based on code requirements. When an opening in a piece of drywall is cut to accommodate such a box, miscuts may occur. Such miscuts are very often horizontally configured mistakes, meaning that the opening, while generally having the correct dimensions to accommodate the desired box, is horizontally askew of the necessary installation position. This happens more often than not when drywall is cut prior to installation through a measuring error by the installer.

Such miscuts are generally proportionally small in nature and may, for example, extend less than 1″ beyond the tolerance allowed for such errors (absent additional drywall installation, the tolerance for such an error generally equals the maximum coverage of the decorative plate used with the box, for example). Further, such miscuts are difficult to repair given at least two factors. One, the opening may be in space and may not allow access to any suitable attachment foundation, such as, for example, a wall stud. Two, even with access to a suitable attachment foundation, the small size of the repair piece of drywall is difficult to successfully attach, whether due to the fragile nature of the piece and/or the difficultly in quickly and efficiently getting the piece in the correct position.

To overcome this problem, in an embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG. 19 a patch may include a pre-cut portion of drywall sized to an opening having the height of a standard electrical box and having a width greater than 1″, such as, for example, 2″. In this embodiment, the patch may include a sheet 72 having attached thereto the repair portion of drywall 74 and may further include a peel-off backing 76 which preserves adhesive 78 on the back of sheet 72 so that it remains active when applied to the drywall.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the pre-cut portion of drywall included with a patch may be larger than is needed and may be trimmed by a user prior to installation. This may allow for a customized fit not otherwise determinable in advance of the miscut being made. The pre-cut portion may be of any thickness and may, as described herein, be one of any standard thickness, such as, for example, ¼″, ⅜″, ½″, and ¾″. The drywall may be of any commercially available type and may be, for example, fire-resistant drywall and mold-resistant drywall, for example.

Similarly, such a solution may be applied to any size application and may be customized as needed. For example, the pre-cut portion may be sized for HVAC duct work and other larger openings. Similarly, the pre-cut portion may take any desired shape and may be, for example, of an “L” shape to accommodate openings either miscut on two sides and/or deliberately made larger than protruding object to allow for proper installation, which may include, for example, the addition of insulation and/or other covering to the protruding object.

In addition to the inclusion of adhesives and/or plaster, other materials may be included with a repair kit to provide additional functionalities and features. For example, a fire caulk, such as 3M™ Fire Barrier Sealant CP 25WB+, for example, may be used for sealing single or multiple through penetrations in fire-rated construction applications. Such fire protection is typically required in mechanical, electrical and plumbing applications to firestop openings created by penetrations in fire-rated floors, floor/ceilings or walls, such as, for example, metallic pipe, plastic pipe, conduit, power and communication cable, cable trays, busways, combos, insulated pipe and HVAC duct penetrations. The present invention may be used to wrap around these penetrations and/or may be used to firestop blank openings and/or static construction joints.

Application of materials is this way may provide for greater application success and conservation of materials. Application success may be achieved in a number of ways including proper sealing and/or repair of an opening, for example. Application time may also be reduced given that the materials needed for the job are contained in one item. For example, the application of fire caulk is generally achieved through using a tube of caulk and a caulk gun and/or a tub/bucket of caulk applied with a trowel. In each case, the application of caulk may not be optimal, whether that means that too much or too little caulk is applied. The application of too much caulk may result in wasted product and money, the application of too little caulk may result in poor/non-performance of the caulk when needed and may, for example, necessitate reapplication after inspection, each a costly proposition.

Application time may also be dramatically reduced by allowing an applicator to necessarily carry all the items necessary for an application (of caulk for example) with them instead of leaving behind and/or forgetting to keep proximate to them the tools needed to complete such a job. Further, since each packet may be used on a single application, the applicator may more easily estimate the amount of applications needed (and conversely the number of packets needed) avoiding miscalculation based on the volume of a caulk tube and/or bucket and the amount of caulk possibly lost in the variation of amounts applied through other methods.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that the herein described systems and methods may be subject to various modifications and alternative constructions. There is no intention to limit the scope of the invention to the specific constructions described herein. Rather, the herein described systems and methods are intended to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the scope and spirit of the invention and its equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A delivery system for sealing the area around circular wall protrusions, comprising: a flexible, transportable wrapper comprising a first and a second half, both halves being opposite-facing; a removable dry patch adhesively affixed to an outside surface of said first half, said patch being adapted for self-adhesive affixation to an area of a wall to prevent the transmission of compound through said patch into said wall; and a quantity of wet, settable compound bounded by said first and second wrapper halves and lying there between; wherein the removable dry patch has at least one circular opening and wherein the at least one circular opening is devoid of compound.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said wrapper halves are sealed along their peripheral edges.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said wrapper halves are sealed by an adhesive.
 4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said halves are separable by manual peeling.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said wet, settable compound is drywall joint compound pre-measured according to the size of said patch.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein one of said wrapper halves is composed of a microporous breathable material.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said wrapper material is a translucent polyethylene or polypropylene plastic film.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 further including a textured surface on a back side of said wrapper.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said flexible wrapper is individually sealed in a surrounding airtight package. 